I attended a symposium on neurocognitive functioning in Singapore last month. Some take home messages that are important and relevant to us as we go into our senior years healthfully and gracefully!!
A lot of the lectures were focused on the importance of maintaining good vascular health to delay the onset of dementia. Research is moving intervention targets to pre-stroke identification and lifestyle management.
Factors that prevent/delay post stroke cognitive impairment (which we can apply for other conditions as well):
- High educational level or life-long learning. Keep yourself open to learning new things – learn a new language, take art/painting classes – just keep learning!
- Keep being productive – delay retirement. You can lessen your work load and pace but keep working and being productive.
- Manage your stress level – remove unnecessary stress in your life!
- Increase your leisure time – be it physical, social or intellectual activity.
- Stay socially engaged, do things with others such as having lunches with friends, outings with family, chatting with exercise mates!
- Control the metabolic risk factors for dementia such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level.
- Control cardio-metabolic factors such as diabetes.
- Maintain your physical health e.g. maintaining a healthy weight level and avoiding inactivity.
- Maintain good nutrition. Follow a good diet that is high in folate (good for memory, learning & language), Omega 3, drink tea and eat curry!
- Control environmental factors. High density of people with high volume of amenities (e.g. restaurants, movie/play houses, museums, etc) is generally better for your brain.
